Medievalstuck
by MariaMagi
Summary: In a kingdom where blood color defines your life, a love that surpasses classes is naturally doomed. But a certain green-blooded Lady is going to change that. KatNep, medieval AU.
1. Chapter 1

The boy ran through the streets, his face caked with mud and dirt and bruises. People glared as he walked by, as if it was an insult for a candy-red-blooded person to be in their presence. But he avoided their stern gazes. He wanted to see the procession going through the town. "Introducing Lady Nepeta Lejion!"

The boy looked up, craning his neck to get a glance of the girl on the hoofbeast. He managed to get through the crowd, and watched as the blood-proofer took her arm, slicing a cut onto her unblemished, unscarred, pale gray skin.

Olive green broke the void of colorlessness. It slid down her hand, dripping onto the ground.

The blood-proofer bandaged her hand, and she put on her blue gloves, covering the bandage. She remounted the hoofbeast. The crowd began to follow her, as she was the last noble.

The boy walked down the street, a reasonable distance away, pretending he was a lime-blood. "Introducing Lord Karkat Vantas!" he muttered.

The girl turned around, smiled and waved. A tiny book fell out of her pocket, beyond her notice, down onto the muddy streets. Karkat walked over to it and picked it up.

"A diary?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Lady Lejion!" Karkat yelled, a touch of his usual crabbiness to his voice. He had picked up a small book that the Lady had dropped, and was now trying to get it back to her. But she was now out of earshot and he would have to go to the castle to return it. Returning it meant facing Queen Feferi and King Eridan. The Queen was sweet and kind, but the King was downright insane. All Karkat could do was pray to Gog that he would be alright.

He entered the castle and Tyrian Purple invaded every part of his vision. The Queen was seated happily on her throne, the King nowhere in sight.

"Y-Your Majesty." The pariah said, bowing, the tone of sarcasm inflecting what were sincere words. "I have come to return this small book to Lady Nepeta Lejion, who dropped this in the street earlier."

"How very kind of you, little fish!" Queen Feferi sang, smiling. "I will be shore to call her. Wade for one second!" A servant ran off, returning with the young noble, a tiny white cat following her closely.

"Is this the young purriah?" Nepeta asked, smiling. "He doesn't look like a purriah to me-ow."

"Eh? Uh, yeah, that's me, I guess." Karkat answered, grumbling under his breath at the "purriah". "I'm the one that you waved to earlier."

A man with blue armor appeared and growled at the boy.

"How _dare you_ accuse Lady Nepeta of such a lowly act! I would call you _strong_minded, but that would practically be a compliment!" Nepeta looked at the man and shook her head. "Equius, it's okay. I like this purriah. What's your name?"

"Vantas. Karkat Vantas."

"Well, then… Karkitty!" She declared. She said it with a huge smile on her face and everyone in the room except her and Karkat suppressed giggles. "What? I'm nicknaming him. I like nicknaming people I like! And I really like mew, Karkitty."

"That's quite enough, Lady." Equius said in a firm voice, planting his hand on her shoulder. "Take your notebook from him and tell him to leave."

"Y-Yes. Just a moment."

She fiddled with her dress for a moment, and during the exchange in which their hands brushed, she placed a tiny note in his hand.

Karkat waited until he got outside to even acknowledge it for fear of causing a rift with the royalty. He had already screwed up pretty badle by talking so… familiarly with the Lady. Once he was almost to his home, he opened the note.

_Dear little purriah, _it read,

_Please meet me-ow in the courtyard after the clock strikes 8 tonight. I have something of great impurrtance to tell mew. _

_I'll be waiting._

_AC_

Karkat blushed a deep candy red. Why would a noble want to meet him? Especially at night? He determined it was a death sentence. It was better he met her. If he didn't, it would mean a death sentence for everyone in his home. He would go. Simple as that. His room mate, Tavros, was a housekeeper for one of the nobles. He kept the man's opium pipe filled at all times, and ran petty errands for him, such as buying more oddly-colored fruit juices and keeping things in check for him. He could claim that Tavros was feeling under the weather and he was simply accompanying him to the courtyard to make sure he was all right. Yeah, that would work!

Karkat stood in the courtyard, nervously brushing dust off his face and combing his hands through his hair over and over, trying his best to look presentable. _Why do I care? They're gonna kill me!_

He was a little bit surprised when Nepeta walked out into the courtyard, smiling happily.

"Hello, Karkitty!" She said, quietly but happily. "I'm so very happy mew made time to see me-ow!"

"Uh… It was no problem… Why did you want to see me?"

"Um… Karkitty…?"

"Yes?"

Nepeta leaned close to Karkat's ear and whispered, "I think I love you."

"_What?_"

Karkat flailed about, trying to conceal his voice. He blushed a deep red and Nepeta giggled happily. "It's true. I saw you standing in the streets, and I thought you looked so sweet, even though you were sad. So… I though this might help you a bit." She held out a small satchel. The pariah cautiously took it from the noblewoman. Judging by its weight, it could feed the people in his house for a year, and they could feast. "Take it."

He took the money from her and placed it into his pocket.

"But the real point is… Karkitty, I… I really do love you." She blushed, and her cheeks turned a shade of olive green. At first Karkat thought she felt ill, but then he remembered her blood color. _Olive green_.

"Lady Nepeta, I… I humbly…"

She looked at him nervously.

"I humbly accept your offer."

Nepeta's eyes lit up.

"Really?" She smiled, her pointed front teeth showing. "Truly?"

"Yes."

Nepeta hugged the candy-red-blooded boy tightly, tears of joy running down her face. "I'm so happy…"

The two sat for a short time, swapping stories and talking, when Tavros walked out of the castle, smelling sourly of opium and fruit, holding chicken nuggets, and looking fairly disheveled.

"Uhh… We need to go now, Karkat…" Karkat stood, and Nepeta whispered, "See ya later, CG." And softly kissed his cheek. She disappeared into the castle, and as Tavros and Karkat walked home, he told him of the small blessing that had just entered their lives.


	3. Chapter 3

**In a small house, containing four peasants**

"Love between a peasant and a noble will result only in strife," Aradia, a girl with red eyeliner, said, "THEY have told me so..."

"It's not like I've ever cared." Karkat replied, trying to find a safe place to hide the money. "My whole life's been strife, in case none of you've noticed."

"Still, wow, being in love with a noble! And the noble loves you back!" Tavros said dreamily, splayed out on a small rug. "I mean, uhh, I know you're still working out your feelings, but, uhh... I think you like her."

"Did you inhale too much of that junk?" Karkat asked the brown-blood. "The way you're talking is weirder than normal."

Sarcasm still inflected the words, even though he was happy as could be. Lady Nepeta wanted to see him again. Him, Karkat Vantas! The pariah that even the pariahs glared at, that the nobles pretended didn't exist! And she gave him gold. Real gold, not fake coins, or IOUs. Real, honest-to-Gog gold! He couldn't wait to tell Sollux when he got back from his studies.

**Meanwhile in the Castle**

"What were you doing out so late, Lady Leijon?" Queen Feferi asked kindly, adjusting the young noble's hair for her. "Judge Terezi's been worried sick."

"Sorry, My Liege." Nepeta replied, getting up on tiptoe to kiss the Queen's cheek. "Where's Sir Equius?"

The Queen giggled and pointed in the direction of the Knight's room. "Thank mew! I just wanted to know." Nepeta smiled and headed off in the direction of her room, passing Lady Kanaya on the way, who was in the process of designing yet another dress for Queen Feferi. No sooner had she entered her own room did Judge Terezi burst in.

"Hey, 'sup, Nepeta?" She sang, ending up sitting in front of her. "I was looking for you, and you were gone! Gamzee was just all, 'MiRaClEs!' and I was all 'WH4T3V3R!' and then Tavros came in with chicken nuggets and juice and Gamzee started yelling about a 'hOnKiN MiRaCuLoUs PaRtY' and then I left."

"Huh." Nepeta replied, her head still in the clouds. She hoped that Karkat wouldn't take the money the wrong way. She really did love him. She closed her eyes tight and shook her head. _I hope he doesn't think I'm paying him to keep quiet… Someone like him should know I did that because I wanted to…_

"You okay?" Terezi asked, blinking behind her rose-tinted glasses.

"Y-Yeah, fine."

"Well, okay… I'll let you get some rest, okay?"

"All right. Thank mew." Terezi exited the room and Nepeta curled up under the strange-smelling blankets of her bed, falling into a dream-full, peaceful sleep. She woke up to see the red sunrise streaming through her window.


	4. Chapter 4

Karkat watched as the sunrise, red as his blood, touched the sky and clouds. He wondered if Nepeta was awake yet, watching the sunset and thinking of him. The thought made his cheeks, already reddened by the sunlight, turn an even deeper shade of red.

"I wonder if she's really going to see me again. I still think there might be a trap," he muttered, his crabbiness overriding his previous state of fluffy feelings. Sighing, he got up and prepared to face the day. Sollux was out again, and Aradia was at school. Only Tavros was left, who can be only described as having a hangover. "Must've inhaled a lot..." Karkat muttered as the tauros wriggled with the uncomfortable headache. He made him some eggs and gave it to him with a grunt of "Eat, you silly creature."

The servant-boy gladly accepted the eggs, gobbling them all up in a flash.

"What happened to your chicken nuggets?"

"I had to keep them safe..." Tavros muttered carefully, leaning on the table sleepily, "from marauders..."

"Marauders? You've officially lost it." Cursing lightly under his breath, Karkat stole a momentary glance at where he had placed the money the night before. It was still safely in place. He let out a quiet sigh of relief and walked over to it, took a few coins, and moved the location to a different place in his room. He then walked outside, deciding to buy some food and perhaps even a gift for Nepeta. She may be a noble, but at least he can get her something from him. Maybe that would keep him alive a little longer.

He found it. A cute green dress, just the color of Nepeta's blood. He knew she would love it, but if he just walked in and bought the dress, he would be laughed at—a pariah, purchasing that kind of dress? Well, it was something he'd have to risk. He got strange stares, but the moment he took out a gold coin to pay for it, all the stares turned to a strange respect. He wondered why for a moment and then left. Then he recalled why.

_Everyone here worships the Sufferer. And everyone says I look like him, and I get good luck because of it, and because I have candy-red blood. Bluh bluh bluh, whatever._

He got home with the food, clothes, and the gift for Nepeta intact. Tavros was in his own room, getting ready for his departure within a few hours. Karkat ran into his room, and got ready, wrapping the dress carefully in the best paper he could find. When it was done, he hoped it wasn't as inadequate as it seemed. Waiting for dusk was horrible, but Nepeta's smiling face made all the waiting worth it.


	5. Chapter 5

The streets were crowded as the small group of peasants walked to the immense church. Karkat grumbled as a few people saw him, thinking he was mocking the Sufferer. Some saw him as a terrible imposter to be feared, while others saw him as someone lucky who just happened to look like the Sufferer. Only a few saw him as just another peasant, or the Sufferer incarnated once more. Really, most hated him, then less than most feared him, the fewer saw him as lucky, the rest as a peasant, and mostly amorous girls that hung out in dress shops saw him as the Sufferer incarnated. He tried not to make a big deal about it, but he had frankly stopped caring. They walked into the church, its huge double doors closing behind them. Aradia motioned to a seat, and Sollux sat next to her, a slight smile on his face. All was silent, and then the King and Queen walked in. King Eridan glared down the aisles as he walked, as though defending his love for the Queen. Queen Feferi, on the other hand, smiled at everyone that the King had glared at, giggling like a little girl on occasion. The two took their seat at the head of the church, the organ player began to play. It was a sobering tune, but it was the hymn that opened each of their services- Iron Infidel.

After the song was over and they took their seats, the priest, the King, walked to the podium and began to speak.

"Today I w-will be discussin w-why, if w-we so w-worship the Sufferer, w-why w-we do not follow-w his teachins." The King had a strange lisp that made him roll his w's and turn his v's into w's. "It is because, though equality w-would be a w-wonderful thin, w-when efforts to destroy the blood caste system w-were made, many of our citizens began to perform inappropriate thins. I w-will not go into detail, but people of formerly noble disposition were robbed of their thins. W-while I do not condone us all minglin w-without a system to separate us, I say w-we should show greater kindness to those less fortunate than ourselwes. Should you see a peasant in the streets today, regardless of w-whom, I beseech you to show-w them any kindness you can afford to."

The sermon seemed to be over, but it was very strange in that it was quite possibly the shortest sermon King Eridan had ever given in his entire life. One for long-winded speeches and rhetoric, everyone was a little relieved when the Queen took to the podium.

"Hello, my little fishes." Queen Feferi treated each person within the church as her own daughter or son, which was quite frankly a gift. She also did her best to keep her accent out of her sermons, which made it easier to understand. "I am going to speak about love. Every kind of love we share in our fair kingdom of Alternia is a wondrous, miraculous," a shout of "I hear ya, Mother Feferi!" briefly interrupted her, "thing that blossoms in all of our hearts." She smiled at the noble that had shouted and said, "I'm glad you agree. Would you like to add anything, Duke Makara?"

The Duke sheepishly shook his head and sat back down.

"Well, then, I'll continue now, I suppose. We have all read the tales of the Ancestors. Well all know of the love between the Disciple and the Sufferer. This was a powerful love that transcended everything we know. If the Disciple had not so truly loved the Sufferer, would we even have a church here today? Would we have any written teachings of the Signless? Or would we be stumbling in the dark, blindly groping for a guiding light? It's with this thought that I leave you, that love can conquer any and all adversity, and in the end, those that love will triumph over those that hate." She smiled and walked back to her seat.

Long after the service, after Karkat had returned to his house, he found himself wondering if he would be able to go to the castle tonight. He had passed Nepeta in the hall, but she had only smiled, not given him the usual signal for "I'll be waiting" that they had agreed on. Tavros had to go again tonight, but the "not feeling well" excuse could only go on for so long. He managed to get in again, and sat near a small fountain in the courtyard, when he heard a light stomping through the grass.

"Come on, Karkitty!" He heard Nepeta cry happily. "I talked to Queen Feferi, and she said I could take mew on a tour of the castle!"

* * *

For any curious readers, "Iron Infidel" is actually on the Homestuck: Colours and Mayhem soundtrack :D You can find it on YouTube if you'd like to give it a listen.


	6. Chapter 6

Nepeta led Karkat up the stairs. "Karkitty, this is Judge Terezi's room! She's actually at school now, so I can't really introduce you. Over there is Lady Kanaya's room. She's in charge of dressmaking and designing the royal gardens. That's Duke Makara's room, and he usually smokes opium in there… It's… a little bit gross."

"Well, I kinda have to live with his servant, so I know."

"Oh, true…" She giggled nervously. "I furgot."

Karkat smiled slightly despite himself. Nepeta tugged his hand, taking him up the staircase a little further. "Sir Zahhak's room is down this hall, that way, and my room's over here! I'll introduce you to Pounce!"

She took off down the hallway, leaving Karkat mildly stunned. Nepeta opened the door like he was still following her.

"Excuse me, Peasantblood, but, uh… May I ask what exactly brings you to this side of the castle, so near my moirail's room?"

He turned around and was faced with someone that was impossibly tall for 8 sweeps. He was not overtly muscular, but had intense eyes that indicated he had seen more than most his age.

"S-she was… Giving me a tour, sir."

"Ah, I see. Well then." He paused for a moment before fiddling with something, which then produced a soft _snap_.

"Fiddlesticks…"

"Uh, if I may ask, what's going on?"

"I was going to present my moirail this ring, but given this exceptional STRENGTH that I have, I accidentally broke it."

The ring was a small, silver band, with a little pink diamond inset. He smiled at the gift before taking it. Upon holding it, he realized that it was actually made of iron.

He followed Equius back to his room, then used the metal forge to fix it properly.

"I must say… For a lowblood, you are an excellent metalworker." Equius looked surprisingly pleased with Karkat's work. "Here, I expect you want money."

"No, no, it's fine. I… I actually… I think seeing her smile would be enough."

The two walked down the hallway and entered Nepeta's room.

"And that's why my curtains are orange!"

"Uh… what?"

"Oh, you weren't here the whole time?"

"No, I apologize, Nepeta, but I delayed this young fellow here. He helped me fix this. I… I tried to make it for you, but I was unable to control such small pieces…"

"Oh, thank you, Equius! It's amazing." She reached out her tiny, delicate hand to take it from her moirail's very large one. She slipped it onto her pinky finger and smiled widely, each tiny pointed fang visible. "I really love it! Thank you!"

Equius smiled and left.

Nepeta sat on a pile of pillows on the floor, and motioned for Karkat to do the same.

"So, tell me about yourself! Do you know how you got your blood color? Or did it just kinda show up?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I guess the Sufferer's genes were somewhere in the slurry."

"I think it's incredible."


End file.
